Fiery Furnaces Hold Caucus to Name Next LP
"The Mobilization Movement needs to be flipped over onto your record player"

Much like fellow members of their musical flock, election fever has gripped the Fiery Furnaces. Their position on those matters is fairly cut and dry: "This Tour supports the senator-from-Illinois, not the senator from Illinois," they write on their website in a post about their forthcoming "Roll the Dice/Leap of Faith" tour, "meaning, of course, that it supports the senator representing Illinois, not the senator born in Illinois." But just because you've already made your selection doesn't mean you can't revel in the process.

And so, our Furnaces have announced an "On-Line Non-Binding Caucus to Determine the Fiery Furnaces' Next Album". The setup is fairly simple: on their website, the Furnaces have proposed eight album titles with accompanying descriptions and split them into red and blue candidates. Will you choose Sweetheart and Co., with found material as lyrics and "Gershwin imitations as the tunes and changes"? Or maybe Catamite Corner, a disc jam-packed with tracks "like 'Kashmir', but faster, with real strings, and different sorts of lyrics"? The discs, as you can imagine, all sound weird and difficult on the page-- and somehow, it's not impossible to imagine the Furnaces pulling off each and every one.

So, uh, how do we vote? The Furnaces urge us to "go stand over in the corner of the Internet next to the album of your choice" and, if so moved, "stomp your feet and chant your candidate's name." We're guessing that means you may have an impact on the name of the next Fiery Furnaces LP (which, barring a massive write-in effort, apparently won't be called Back to Begamo after all) by weighing in on the comments section of the post. As the Furnaces urge, "Voice of the People-ize!"

As with the general election, we'll let that spot of weirdness hash itself out while we busy ourselves reminding you about Fiery Furnaces tour dates. [MORE...]

Clipse, LSF, Man Man, Portishead Do Primavera Fest
Plus: Okkervil River, Silver Jews, Deerhunter, Mission of Burma, Six Organs, Eric’s Trip

Estrella, damn! The lineup for this year's Estrella Damm Primavera Sound Festival has begun shaping up, and it's already a doozy. From the snub-nosed crack rap of Clipse to the furry lo-fi fury of Eric's Trip, from the manic Man Man to the masterful Mission of Burma, the current list is long on eclectism, with Portishead, Okkervil River, Deerhunter, Les Savy Fav, Silver Jews, and Six Organs of Admittance rounding out the top picks.

Other confirmed acts include the Shipping News, Scout Niblett, Pissed Jeans, Edan & MC Dagha, Fuck Buttons, MV & EE With the Golden Road, Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs, Model 500, and the Felice Brothers. Our pals at All Tomorrow's Parties are sponsoring a portion of the festivities, which pop off May 29-31 at Barcelona, Spain's Parc del Fòrum.

Big Boi Ballet Details Emerge

Last May we learned that Big Boi-- probably not the first member of Outkast you'd expect to embrace his inner Terpsichore-- was putting together his very own ballet show in collaboration with the Atlanta Ballet.

And well, folks, it's really happening. Big opens April 10 at Atlanta's Fox Theatre and will feature the man born Antwan Patton moving his body about artistically alongside members of his Purple Ribbon Entertainment troupe and the Ballet. Act fast though; the extravaganza of sound and motion only runs for six performances and closes April 13.

According to NME.com (UPDATE: via Spin magazine), the production will feature a full live band, with musical selections from the Outkast catalog and Big Boi's own forthcoming solo album. There's also talk of taking Big, which was choreographed by Lauri Stallings, over to Europe later in 2008.

Fuck Buttons Start Horrrsing Around on LP, Tour

We're still learning a lot about Fuck Buttons, the Bristol duo with but a few tunes and more than several surprisingly rabid fans to their (filthy!) name. And all that without an album (seems like that's becoming a trend these days). But we'll all play catch up real quick-like with these fornication fasteners March 18 when ATP Recordings releases Fuck Buttons' full-length debut, Street Horrrsing.

The band will have plenty of chances to get into their Horrrs-play on a ton of forthcoming tour dates, primarily with Caribou. They'll land fairly close to home at May's ATP vs. Pitchfork festival before heading Barcelona way to Primavera Sound. [MORE...]

M.I.A. Visits Liberia for Television Show
Episode to air in March

Having already walked all over Pitchfork's top albums and top tracks lists for 2007, M.I.A. will soon be coming to a television near you. The charismatic pusher of envelopes journeyed to Liberia to film an episode of the Canadian television/web series "4Real Liberia" [via NME.com]. She also blogged about the experience at length back in December 2006.

In the show-- available right now at "4Real"'s website-- M.I.A. meets activist and Youth Action International founder Kimmie Weeks and goes on a tour of his country. She also speaks with Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, drops in on Liberian children in an art class, and checks out one of Weeks' YAI programs.

Through his work with Youth Action International, Weeks seeks to rebuild war-torn African communities. A particular goal for Liberia is the rehabilitation of the thousands of child soldiers conscripted during the nation's horrific civil war (1989-1996) and the despotic rule of previous leader Charles Taylor.

Past "4Real" episodes have highlighted spots across the globe and featured such musical guests as Mos Def and Flea. The latest season, including the M.I.A. episode, airs on MTV Canada, Canada's CTV, and National Geographic International channels (outside the U.S., UK, and Canada) this March. The series is available online as well.

Black Mountain Add Bonus Disc to In the Future

Just when you thought Black Mountain couldn't cram another jam into the deep grooves of the gargantuan In the Future, they go and do something like this. Jagjaguwar will release a limited edition 2XCD version of In the Future that crams three tracks into the fold: "Bastards of Light" and "Thirteen Walls" from this fall's tour 12", and "Black Cat". I can't speak for "Black Cat", but sound-wise, the other two could've easily fit on In the Future. Or, uh, a disc conveniently affixed to In the Future. Either way!

The band also plan to bring the Future kicking and screaming into the present, as anyone who pre-orders any edition of In the Future will get an MP3 download of the record before it hits shelves on January 22. (Pssst, if you go to Black Mountain's MySpace page, you can check out the whole of In the Future streaming right this moment. No foolin'!)

Black Mountain will make their national television debut on the Conan O'Brien program February 21. Beyond that, they're touring with some fine, fine bands over the coming months. Full dates after the jump, with a few new Midwestern additions since our last report. [MORE...]

My Morning Jacket Announce Release Date, Shows

Photo by Kathryn Yu

It's been too long since we've heard from My Morning Jacket. Since becoming modern rock mainstays off the success of 2005's Z, they've been picky with appearances and scant with releases. And picky/scant-ness works great if you're trying to build a myth, but it doesn't help us with our hunger for kickin' tunes! Thus, the news of a proper studio follow-up to Z is more than welcome.

The new album is currently untitled, but the band is finishing up its recording and mixing for a June 10 release on ATO. The record's production comes from frontman Jim James and producer Joe Chiccarelli, who has worked with the White Stripes, the Shins, and Brian Wilson. (Hey, maybe this is MMJ's bearded symphony to God?!)

Both the band together and James alone have a few tour dates on the docket as well. The first three are in Texas in March, first with Yo La Tengo and then as part of SXSW. Their final scheduled show is at NYC's Radio City Music Hall for "An Evening With My Morning Jacket". [MORE...]

High on Fire Join Megadeth's GIGANTOUR
...and play quite a few puny headlining dates as well

Photo by Taija Lynn

Perhaps you, like Pitchfork's Brandon Stosuy (and, I should add, your reporter), have been warming to High on Fire's Death Is This Communion since its September release, and are now contemplating your next move. Mining the band's back catalog for more Oaktown commotion? Well, sure, that's always a good place to start. Partaking of some mind-expanding pyrotechnics? Better to leave that to the professionals. Checking out a live show? Now you're talking.

High on Fire have a bit of a bifurcated schedule over the coming months, which begins later this week with the band's headlining trek of the States. The trio will pick back up in April, this time on the fantastically-named GIGANTOUR where they'll join Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, and Job for a Cowboy. Wait, isn't being a cowboy a job in and of itself? Eh, less logic, more METAL. [MORE...]

Daedelus Unveils Live Album, Contest, Dates

Electronic trickster Daedelus will go the Lynyrd Skynyrd route on January 22 with the release of his first live album, Live at Low End Theory, on Alpha Pup.

To celebrate the release, he's holding "Daedelus' Alive for You Contest". The rules and prize up for grabs are like this:

"Each contestant can choose up to 10 favorite Daedelus tracks for Daedelus to create a custom mix CD using his signature piece of equipment, the Monome. People can sign up for the contest on Daedelus' MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/daedelusdarling beginning on the official album release date, Tuesday, January 22. The contest will last two weeks, ending on February 5. One lucky winner will be randomly chosen."

Daedelus will showcase his live skills on a handful of North American and French dates he has in the coming months, starting with a January 16 set at the same Low End Theory club in L.A. where he recorded the new album. [MORE...]

Menomena Raise "Hell" on New Single, Tour

Photo by Jason Bergman

The last time Menomena went to Europe, drummer Danny Seim couldn't shut up about it. In fact, Seim penned a 7,500+ word diary chronicling the charms of touring the continent for Portland paper Willamette Week.

So what manner of long distance all-access can be expected for Menomena's forthcoming European tour? 15,000 words? A 24/7 live video feed, shot from a Seim-mounted helmet cam? Detailed accounts of board gaming with R&B royalty? Or maybe just some loop-rocking live shows?

The tour kicks off February 26 in France, just a day after Cityslang issues a download-only UK single for Friend and Foe's "Rotten Hell". They mean single, too, as the tune flies solo, with no B-sides.

Seim's solo project Lacktherof recently issued its eighth LP. Gosh, and Menomena only have three albums? Slackers! I expect a 7,500-word report on my desk by the end of March. [MORE...]

M.I.A., Fischerspooner, Digitalism on Kitsune Maison 5
Plus: The Teenagers, Rex the Dog, Alan Braxe

Kitsuné just keeps them choice comps coming, and the fifth edition in the Parisian fashionista dance label's much feted Maison series is no exception.

Kitsuné Maison Compilation 5 arrives worldwide February 4 and boasts rare and exclusive tracks from the likes of M.I.A., Fischerspooner, Digitalism, the Teenagers, Rex the Dog, Alan Braxe, Late of the Pier, and more. The set also plays host to what's approximately the 39,197th remix served up by CSS.

Another comp act, Kitsuné's own Cazals, will release their full-length debut via the label on May 19 in the UK. Before that, however, Kitsuné will unload 12" singles by Fischerspooner and autoKratz. The former's "The Best Revenge" arrives February 4 as well, while the latter's "1000 Things / Last Show" lands January 29.

What's more, Kitsuné is sponsoring a full-blown Maison 5 tour, featuring Guns N' Bombs, autoKratz, David E. Sugar, and Gildas & Masaya (plus Digitalism on one date). That kicks off February 1 in Paris, though G'NB have a few North American gigs surrounding it. [MORE...]

Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Godspeed Folk on Chatham Set
Plus: Final Fantasy, Tony Conrad, Lichens, members of Hüsker Dü, U.S. Maple, Fog

One man, one chord, and a pretty enviable list of collaborators: Guitar Trio, perhaps Rhys Chatham's trademark piece, is minimal music deployed on a maximal scale.

Chatham celebrated the iconic composition's 30th birthday early last year by taking it on tour across North America with members of Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Godspeed You! Black Emperor/A Silver Mt. Zion, Hüsker Dü, Fog, Final Fantasy, and more joining in at various stops. Most performances stretched the Trio to include upwards of seven or eight guitarists-- one (Toronto) even featured a six-piece string section-- and by all accounts "epic" was the word.

Those who missed out and those who long to relive the experience alike, you're in luck. On March 4, Table of the Elements will issue "GUITAR TRIO IS MY LIFE!" from Rhys Chatham & His Guitar Trio All-Stars, a massive three-disc set collecting performances of the famed piece from across last year's tour. The set draws its name from an exclamation made by a particularly zealous fan during a previous Guitar Trio performance.

Featured on the release: Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth (in Brooklyn), John McEntire, Jeff Parker, and Doug McCombs of Tortoise (Chicago), Efrim Menuck and Thierry Amar of Godspeed You! Black Emperor/A Silver Mt. Zion (Montreal), Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy (Toronto), Rob Lowe of Lichens (Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis), Andrew Broder of Fog (Minneapolis), Greg Norton of Hüsker Dü (Minneapolis), and tons more. Check out the city-by-city breakdown here, and while you're at it, have a look at the score. Not so simple after all, eh? [MORE...]

Do you have a news tip for us? Anything crazy happen at a show you attended recently? Do you have inside info on the bands we cover? Is one of your favorite artists (that's not somebody you know personally) releasing a new record you'd like to see covered? You will remain completely anonymous, unless we are given your express permission to reveal your identity. (Please note that publicists, managers, booking agents, and other artist representatives are generally exempt from this rule, but will also be granted anonymity if requested.)